System of mine-trackage.



1?'. R.\ WILLSON, JR. SYSTEM OF MINE TRAGKAGE. APPLIUATgoN FILED mm;190s. v900,963s

FREEMANv R.

WILLSON, JR., OF WORTHINGTON,YOHIO,ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREYVMANUFAOTURINGr COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

`AVSYSTEM or MINE-TRACKAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

Application filed February 3, 1908. Serial No. 414,097.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FREEMAN R. WILLsoN, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Worthington, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems ofMine-Trackage, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein toV the accompanying drawing.

My inventionrelates to a system oftrackage for mines and has for itsvobject to provide improved automatic means for returning to the roomsthe empty coal cars after they leave the mine cage at the bottom of theshaft.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a cage room with tracks arranged according tomy invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detailview in elevation of the left-hand end of the cage room.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the cage room, and 2 an entry leading tothe rooms 1n which the coal is being out. The loaded coal cars 4arebrought by way of the'tracks 33,in the entry to the cage room where theyare moved Y on to the track designated yby thenumeral 4,

of t e mine. By a suitable.y arrangement v.of automatic levers andtripping devices 4whenr the loaded car nearest to the mine shaft 5 isuncoupled and released by the cage operator,

it moves, under the action of gravity, down track 4, which has a smallgrade preferably of about one per cent., bumping the empty car standingupon the cage' 0H the cage and being itself caught in position upon thecage.

I vhave shown two mine shafts each pro.- vided with a cage, the track 4having the branches 44, each of which leads to one of the shafts. Theempty car upon leaving the mine cage`moves along track 5 which is gradeddownwardly from the mine shaft until it reaches the point 5a"where itpasses upon a section of track 7 oppositely graded at a considerableangle to the horizontal. The car is carried up this'` incline by meansof the car haul mechanism indicated as a whole by 8, and which may be ofany desirable or suitable character. l

For purposes of illustration, I have shown such an apparatus comprisingthe haulage chain 9 equipped with the lugs 1() for engagingcorresponding lugs 11 on the bottom of preplaratory to being elevatedtothe surface' the cars, this chain passing around the idle sprocketwheel 12 at one end of its course and at the other end of its coursearound the sprocket wheel 13, which is driven by the motor 15.

When theA car has reached the top of this incline, it runs by gravitydown the section of track designated 16, to the switch-back 17.

From the switch-back to the mine entry 2,

the car descends along the return track 18, and is hauled by anysuitable means to the rooms to be reloaded. The switch-back 17 vthecontrol of the cage-man. The distance vertically through which the emptycar is elevated by means of the car haul is sufH- cient to provide acontinuous down grade from the top of the track section 7 to theswitch-back and thence to the entry.

What I claim is:

1. A track system for a mine cage room, oomprising-theloaded 'car track4 extending from the room doorway to the mine shaft, and a return trackextending from the opposite side of the mine shaft to the said doorway,said return track havingl a down-grade section 5, an up-grade section 7,and thence a down-grade section to the room doorway,

track section 7 to the entry tracks, substantially as set forth.

3. A track system for a mine cage room, comprising the loaded car trackon one side of the shaft, the em ty car track leading from the otherside o the shaft, said empty car track comprising the section 5 gradeddownwardly from the shaft the oppositely inclined section 7, thedown-grade 16, switchback 17 and down-grade 18, and means for movingthe'cars up the inclined track section 7, substantially as set forth.

4. A track system for a mine cage room, comprising the loaded car trackon one side of the shaft, the empty car track leading from the otherside of the shaft, said empty In testimonywhereof I nlix my signature,car track comprlslng the sectlon 5 graded n presence of two Wltnesses.

downwardly from the shaft the oppostely Y 1 l T inclined section 7, thedown-grade 16, SWtcl I FRLEMN R" TILLSOX JR 5 back 17 and down-grade 18,and the car haul 'Wtnessesz WILLIAM WV. VILLSON,

mechanism S for the inclined track section 7, y

EDWARD T. VVILLsoN.

substantially as set forth.

